I have experienced this myself.

My main machine at home - a M2 Pro MacBook with 32GB RAM - effortlessly runs whatever I throw at it. It completes heavy tasks in reasonable time such as Xcode builds and running local LLMs.

Work issued machine - an Intel MacBook Pro with 16GB RAM - struggles with Firefox and Slack. However, development takes place on a remote server via terminal, so I do not notice anything beyond the input latency.

A secondary machine at home - an HP 15 laptop from 2013 with an A8 APU and 8GB RAM (4GB OOTB) - feels sluggish at times with Linux Mint, but suffices for the occasional task of checking emails and web browsing by family.

A journaling and writing machine - a ThinkPad T43 from 2005 maxed out with 2GB RAM and Pentium M - runs Emacs snappily on FreeBSD.

There are a few older machines with acceptable usability that don’t get taken out much, except for the infrequent bout of vintage gaming

It isn’t.

He uses a version of Emacs called MicroEmacs.

I recall seeing his MicroEmacs configuration a while back when I was exploring options to start using Emacs.

Something does seem fishy: the total number of votes this post has received (~450 at the time of writing this comment) is only about a third of the number of comments (~1.2k).

I guess people were really pent up about their pedantic tendencies.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Also, appreciate the intro to Haiku OS, I had not heard of it earlier. It is interesting to read their philosophy through their FAQs.

https://www.haiku-os.org/about/faq/

Thank you. The order of trials is 98 -> 2000 -> XP.

I will not be using Windows to connect to the internet; that function will be reserved for the Linux based OS, which I will be running in dual boot mode.

During my search for operating systems for older machines, I did come across NetBSD, but I am not sure if I am ready to give up my familiarity with Linux-based OSs.

Edit: Having said that, this seems like a good opportunity to try it out.

I am surprised that 0 A.D. is not mentioned.

Although initially unplayable, the game was fun in the mid-to-late 2000s.

I haven’t checked it out in a while, but it holds high nostalgic value for me.

Refurbished ThinkPads are available in countries where Framework, System76, and Pine64 do not ship.

Besides, ThinkPads are really well-built machines that perform well for everyday tasks at a fraction of their (or the aforementioned competition’s) original price.

I love my two machines, which are from before Lenovo took over completely. Their keyboards, port selection, and repairability are almost unparalleled compared to today’s competition.

I am having similar objectives as of now for the T42. I hope it goes well. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you. I shall add SeaMonkey to the list of browsers to try out.

Thank you for your insight. But I have made it clear that I will not be using Windows 98 for browsing the web, and instead use a Linux based OS.

X220 is a beautiful machine! May it continue to serve you well for years to come. :-)

Thank you for your insights. I already have some of these items on my list such as trying out Antix, restricting Windows 98 to gaming, upgrading the hardware, lifting the T42 with both hands from both sides, etc.

When it comes to web browsing, I am starting to think as long as websites that offer long form reading content work, I should be okay. For every other website, I would rather use my daily driver. It would be nice if the boards and forums I frequent also work but I won’t lose sleep over it. Besides, I am using this opportunity to get back on IRC.

As for writing, my workflows are already based on plain text (org files) so I won’t be requiring any office suites. It is also an opportunity to test out my emacs configuration on a resource constricted machine.

If I may ask, how was your experience using the Celeron laptop you mentioned? Do you still use it?

Yes. I do plan to max out the CPU and RAM, and use an SSD.

Thank you for pointing to the software. I am already looking into getting back on IRC thanks to another comment. I will check the rest out.

It has been more than a decade since I used IRC, #oldcomputerchallenge is a very good reason to get back to using it.

I was superficially aware of Gopher, but I did not know of the other internet protocols mentioned at: https://portal.mozz.us

Also, I completely agree with your point about using light software. I hope I come across more such software as I go down this rabbit hole.

I have learnt so much from your few comments. Thank you so much!

P.S. I am curious to know what your daily driver is, only if you don’t mind sharing.

I see. I was planning on using Antix or Bunsen Linux. I will check out Adelie Linux too. Thank you for the suggestion.

Though I will be maxing out the T42 (CPU, RAM, SSD), I am aware it is not going to be a smooth sailing after a cursory look at videos on YouTube.

Yes. I plan on using a lightweight Linux based OS for daily operations and restrict Windows only to game. I also know Firefox would not cut it, and using an older build of FF is a security risk.

The intention behind making this post was to learn from the community what they do to browse the web on vintage machines, if they even do.

Thank you for pointing me to Luakit and https://farside.link. I already use alternative front ends like Piped and Nitter but it is nice to see there are many more options.

Thank you. I do have my expectations in check. That is the reason the machine is restricted to certain activities like reading and writing/journaling.

I was just curious if anyone is using it to browse the web, especially with a combination of lightweight OS and browser.

Thank you sharing about The Old Net. They even have a lite page for systems with limited RAM:

http://theoldnet.com/lite

Oh I won’t even bother connecting to the web with Windows 98.

When I asked the question I assumed a Linux based OS like Antix or Bunsen.